Concerns about school food safety rose in early 2000s

Jun. 3, 2012

Written by

Paul Barton

Gannett Washington Bureau

Concerns about food safety in school cafeterias surfaced in a major way in the early 2000s, following a number of media and government reports.

One was a Chicago Tribune series in 2001 that highlighted major threats to the safety of students arising from breakdowns in the government system that regulates school food.

Also, a Government Accountability Office study in 2003 looked at 40 large outbreaks of food-borne illnesses involving school lunch programs.

“Nearly half of these large outbreaks resulted from improper food preparation and handling practices in school kitchens,” said the agency, the watchdog arm of Congress.

“Most commonly, foods involved in the outbreaks were contaminated with Norwalk-like viruses, which cause a mild gastrointestinal illness. However, data limitations make comprehensive assessment of the safety of school meal programs difficult.”

Other findings of the GAO included:

• Having key food service personnel trained and certified in food safety would address the improper food preparation and handling practices that caused most of the outbreaks.

• Purchasing precooked or irradiated meat and poultry products could reduce the risk of food-borne illness in schools.

• The U.S. Department of Agriculture should share with schools the safety standards it required for the handling of commodities donated to the school lunch program.

In response, numerous members of Congress introduced school food-safety bills in 2003 designed to address various aspects of the system. The bills were in anticipation of congressional reauthorization — or review — of school nutrition programs scheduled for 2004.

Sen. Richard Durbin, D-Ill., became one of the most prominent on the issue, pushing through reforms that included a requirement of at least two inspections of school cafeterias a year by local authorities. Previously, only one had been required.

Under regulations the Agriculture Department developed to implement the new law, schools were required to post the results of such inspections in “a visible location.”

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Interestingly, public comments the department gathered about the inspection rule included significant opposition to the second inspection.

In a report published in the Federal Register, federal officials said “most (comments) stated a second inspection was not necessary because school cafeterias are safe places to eat with well-trained staff and/or a manager who is certified in safe food-handling procedures.”

But the 2004 changes fell far short of eliminating problems related to school food and illnesses.

Throughout the rest of the decade, new news media reports proliferated, leading to congressional resolve in 2009 and 2010 to push through additional changes in the school food system.

Lead by lawmakers such as Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand, D-N.Y., and Rep. George Miller, D-Calif., then chairman of the House Education and Workforce Committee, Congress in 2010 passed the Healthy, Hunger-Free Kids Act. One of its provisions required schools to make information about food-safety inspections readily accessible to parents and others.

The new law also requires the Agriculture Department to revise procedures for helping schools dispose of federally supplied food that has been recalled for various reasons.

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